Recording of location event information in RFID tags
First Claim
1. A method, comprising steps of:
- (a) wirelessly receiving at least one signal at an electronic device associated with a package as the package is transported from a source location to a destination location in a manufacturing process, supply chain, and/or distribution network, the at least one signal including location event information that is sufficient to specify a location of the package at a time the at least one signal is received; and
(b) based upon the at least one signal, storing data representative of the location event information in memory of the electronic device so that the location of the package identified by the at least one signal can be subsequently ascertained by retrieving and analyzing the data;
wherein the step (b) comprises storing data in the memory of the electronic device sufficient to indicate an amount of time the package spent at the specified location.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present invention is directed to novel systems and methods for transmitting location event information to and/or from an electronic device, such as a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag, from and/or to one or more location ID stations. Among other things, a method is disclosed that involves wirelessly receiving at least one signal at an electronic device associated with a package as the package is transported from a source location to a destination location in a manufacturing process, supply chain, and/or distribution network, the at least one signal including location event information that is sufficient to specify a location of the package at a time the at least one signal is received. The method further involves, based upon the at least one signal, storing data representative of the location event information in memory of the electronic device so that the location of the package identified by the at least one signal can be subsequently ascertained by retrieving and analyzing the data.
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Citations
41 Claims
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1. A method, comprising steps of:
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(a) wirelessly receiving at least one signal at an electronic device associated with a package as the package is transported from a source location to a destination location in a manufacturing process, supply chain, and/or distribution network, the at least one signal including location event information that is sufficient to specify a location of the package at a time the at least one signal is received; and (b) based upon the at least one signal, storing data representative of the location event information in memory of the electronic device so that the location of the package identified by the at least one signal can be subsequently ascertained by retrieving and analyzing the data; wherein the step (b) comprises storing data in the memory of the electronic device sufficient to indicate an amount of time the package spent at the specified location. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. An apparatus for use in a system comprising a plurality of location identification (ID) stations disposed at various locations between a source location and a destination location, each of the plurality of location ID stations being configured and arranged to wirelessly transmit at least one signal including location event information that is sufficient to specify a location of that location ID station, the apparatus comprising:
a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag associated with a package, the RFID tag comprising a sensor adapted to monitor at least one physical or environmental condition to which the package is subjected, wherein the RFID tag is configured to wirelessly receive the at least one signal from each of the plurality of location ID stations and to store received location event information in memory. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. An apparatus for use in a system comprising a plurality of location identification (ID) stations disposed at various locations between a source location and a destination location, each of the plurality of location ID stations being configured and arranged to wirelessly transmit at least one signal including location event information that is sufficient to specify a location of that location ID station, the apparatus comprising:
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an electronic device comprising at least one of a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag and a sensor adapted to monitor at least one physical or environmental condition of a package with which the sensor is associated, wherein the electronic device is configured to wirelessly receive the at least one signal from each of the plurality of location ID stations and to store received location event information in memory; wherein the electronic device is configured to store received location event information in the memory only if a predetermined number of consecutive entries in the memory specifying the same current geographic location has not been exceeded.
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27. An apparatus for use in a system comprising a plurality of location identification (ID) stations disposed at various locations between a source location and a destination location, each of the plurality of location ID stations being configured and arranged to wirelessly transmit at least one signal including location event information that is sufficient to specify a location of that location ID station, the apparatus comprising:
an electronic device comprising at least one of a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag and a sensor adapted to monitor at least one physical or environmental condition of a package with which the sensor is associated, wherein the electronic device is configured to wirelessly receive the at least one signal from each of the plurality of location ID stations and to store received location event information in memory, wherein the location event information included in received signals is sufficient to indicate an amount of time the package spent at each location. - View Dependent Claims (28, 29)
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30. A system, comprising:
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an electronic device to be associated with a package when the package is transported from a source location to a destination location in a manufacturing process, supply chain, and/or distribution network; means for wirelessly transmitting at least one signal to the electronic device that includes location event information sufficient to specify a location of the package at the time the at least one signal is transmitted; and means for receiving the at least one signal with the electronic device and, in response to receiving the at least one signal, storing information indicating the location of the package together with time information. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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40. A method, comprising steps of:
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(a) wirelessly receiving at least one signal at an electronic device associated with a package as the package is transported from a source location to a destination location, the at least one signal comprising information sufficient to specify a location of the package at a time the at least one signal is received; (b) based upon the at least one signal, storing data representative of the location in a memory of the electronic device; (c) storing data representing a time at which the at least one signal was received in the memory of the electronic device; (d) after performing the step (c), periodically storing markers that indicate whether the package is within a vicinity of a location identification (ID) station in the memory of the electronic device; and (e) determining a duration during which the package was within the vicinity of the location based at least in part on the stored data representing the time at which the at least one signal was received and the subsequently stored markers. - View Dependent Claims (41)
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Specification